Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Menġ. Many thanks to The Word Among Us for allowing us to include in this article the Septemmeditation from the September 2005 Edition of their magazine.) Box 86381, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 or e-mail them at. This article is part of NFCM's sponsorship of the Catholic Man channel. (Maurice Blumberg is Executive Director of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men. Teach me and lead me in honoring the Sabbath, so that I may rest in you and learn more about who you are and what you desire of me.” “Father, you alone are my security and salvation. So let this Sunday and every Sunday be a day of true Sabbath rest. Whatever you do on the Sabbath, know that God wants to refresh you and draw you closer to him. Also consider inviting some neighbors or friends over for dessert and a time of prayer together.
REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY MEANING MOVIE
Consider having a special meal and enjoying it as a family spending the evening (or afternoon) together playing games watching an entertaining and uplifting movie or taking a walk. So how do we “keep holy” the Sabbath? How do we get spiritually refreshed? The obvious ways are by attending Mass and receiving Christ in the Eucharist, by making time for extra prayer, and by refraining from unnecessary work. Spiritually, however, we are just as wanting, and this is exactly why God gave us the Sabbath. Our culture recognizes this on a physical level. He knows that we need a regular time for rest and restoration, a time to draw closer to Him, and a time for recharging. He knows how we are made, the toll life exacts from us, and what our most basic needs are. When God instituted the Sabbath, he was thinking of us. What the scribes and Pharisees had forgotten most of all is that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). As Jesus had pointed out in other, similar situations, it seems that these religious leaders had forgotten that God wants “steadfast love and not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6 Matthew 9:13). It became so obscured that some scribes and Pharisees were actually enraged when Jesus healed a man with a withered hand one Sabbath (Luke 6:6-11). However, the observance of the Sabbath also became mired in legalities. Over time, the Sabbath became a way for Israel to maintain its identity amid the pagan world and a way of assuring that God’s people remained steadfast in faith and love. Finally, it was a sign to them that they enjoyed a unique relationship with God. It was also a reminder to the Israelites that their time and land belong to God, and that just as He had been so good to them, they too were to show mercy and compassion toward the weak and destitute (Deuteronomy 15:12-15). So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)įrom the beginning, a day of rest figured prominently in Jewish observances. Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. As you reflect on these words, ask the Lord for Godly wisdom to apply some of the ideas presented.īear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath. It also includes some questions for discussion by a Catholic men’s group. The article emphasizes the importance of spending time on the Sabbath to get physically and spiritually refreshed. The article below was adapted from the Septemmeditation in the The Word Among Us magazine. It can be a source of guilt, if we think we are sinning by some of the activities we do on Sundays. However, many of us as Catholic men struggle to understand what it means to observe or “keep holy” the Sabbath on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. We all know that one of the Ten Commandments is to “keep holy” the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8).
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